I like flea markets and power tools, parties and pillows. I’m a mommy and a decorator, and a diehard DIYer. Join me and my little family as we renovate our new (old) home with lots of love and plenty of elbow grease.

Silver Leaf Dressers

I love the glam factor that mirrored furniture can bring to a room! My Rhode Island client and I were really hoping to get a little of that glam into her bedroom. Unfortunately, mirrored furniture is really expensive - even the cheapy stuff from Target or Pier 1 was cost prohibitive in this project.

When I found this image from House Beautiful, I was inspired to look into getting mirror custom cut to fit a boxy and inexpensive dresser. That also turned out to be completely out of our price range (several hundred dollars for just the mirror for each dresser).

So, we were on to Plan C! I did a little googling and found some images of silver leafed furniture...

We both thought the silver leaf was a good alternative and decided to take the plunge. I found two bombay chests at HomeGoods that were on clearance for $75 because the paint was chipping. The size and shape were perfect for the room.

Once home, each dresser was lightly sanded over the chipped parts and then given a coat of chocolate brown paint (Ralph Lauren's 'Galvenized'). Once the paint had cured, I coated both dressers with 3-hour Quick Set Gilding Size, available here and at most art supply stores. I used about a pint between both dressers.

The gilding size acts as the glue that holds on the leaf. It's applied just like a varnish, and after waiting for a specified time, the size becomes tacky and is ready to be gilded.

There are many types of metal leaf. For this project, I used aluminum leaf because it was the brightest silver tone and looked the most to me like mirror (and the bonus is that aluminum is less expensive than silver leaf). A box of 500 5.5" x 5.5" sheets is $40-$50 and was more than enough for these two dressers.

As far as application of the leaf goes, the basic idea is to carefully lay the sheets down with as little folding of the leaf as possible. Then using a soft bristled paint brush, just tap, burnish and rub the leaf down. It gets really easy with practice - you'll feel like a pro after only 4 or 5 sheets.

Here are my best tips for gilding:

1. Do this project in the garage or outside if you are working on a large scale (like on furniture). The metal leaf bits get EVERYWHERE (which is a bonus if you are a four-year old obsessed with fairy dust)

2. Start with a flat, horizontal surface (like the dresser tops) to get the technique down before you attempt the vertical front or sides.

3. Once you've burnish one leaf sheet and are ready for the next, place that next sheet slightly on top of the already burnished leaf. By overlapping the sheets a little, there will be less of a gap/crack and the resulting look will be more seamless.

4. I ended up sort of liking the cracks and gaps in the gilding (it looks like antique mirror to me, with the chocolate brown base peeping through), but if you don't want to see the "imperfections" just use a bit of extra leaf and rub it into the gap or crack with your finger and the size will quickly pick up the leaf bits.

5. I was shocked at how resilient the gilded surface was after the size had fully dried. My client opted not to seal the finish because she wanted it to gently wear over time, but it would be easy to apply some Wipe On Poly to protect and seal the gilding.

The process looks more intimidating than it really is. While it's sort of time consuming, I was able to catch up on my tivo-ed shows while I gilded (do you spy my remote?).

We used vintage lucite knobs from eBay as a final touch and I think that really moved these formally "Olde World" Homegoods dressers in the "Glam and Gorgeous" category.

Why are you so flipping AWESOME??! I have read your blog forever and each time I am amazed at your talent. I also love reading how you write because it is as if you are speaking directly to me. I am obsessed with your blog - but not in a creepy, come find you way lol.

Well, this inspires me to try again. I did a mirror years ago, and it was a disaster. I like seeing the whole process-- I can see where I made my mistakes (I'm a visual girl!). Beautiful-- but I don't know how you leaned over that belly to do all your leafing!

This is my first comment on your blog even though I've been following it for quite a while. I just had to let you know that this is the best DIY idea I've seen anywhere in recent history! Thanks so much for sharing! Huge congrats your recent addition, too!

That is one amazing transformation!!! You are one clever cookie - please don't tell me you had time to did this after you had your gorgeous new bundle. Absolutely fantastic - a great job. Your client must be thrilled. Love your bog.......KG

What a fantastic project this is! Thanks for the step by step. I've done gold leaf gilding before, but never on furniture. This is such a great look. I might have to find something I can do this on. Saving it to my Tumblr file for inspiration.

Jenny - you are so cool. Like, soooooo cool. Thank you for the tutorial. Someday when I have the cash, I am going to hire you for real to do my WHOLE house. Your taste is fantastic but realistically priced for the average person. I love it and I love your blog.

P.S. I am in the process of making the changes you suggested for my bedroom and I'll send you pictures of it when I'm done. I think you'll approve!

This looks terrific! I've tried this technique before, and it is kind of fun, and mesmerizing!On a simpler piece of furniture, it would be cool to try a faux marble finish on the top as well!Hope you're having fun with your new little project! She's a cutie!

Jenny - believe it or not I've been planning on gold leafing the wooden parts of an arm chair and this post really really helps me so much. I was going to just use spray adhesive, but now I am wondering if I should use the sticky stuff you used. It's not nearly as much "real estate" as your dressers though. Hmm...

You are one talented lady! I love this technique as i have a small dresser that i have been dying to do something with other than paint. I thank you for your detailed instructions as i think i may tackle this project on my own. Wishing you a Happy New Year and i look forward to more inspiration from your fantastic read..

This is amazing!! So... do you think I could do this to my piano? It is an old black laquer upright that I got for FREE on craigslist. It needs to be rekeyed anyway, so I could that after the project... please someone tell me I'm insane!

Thanks for all the kind comments, guys! One of my resolutions this year is to be really good about responding to questions in the comments section. So, here goes! Please let me know if I missed your question.

Natalie - The finish was surprisingly resilient! I definitely would seal the leaf though, just to be sure. Wipe on poly is my favorite.

Sandra - A silver leafed dining table would be FAB. Make sure to seal that bad boy up really well though. Two coats of poly at least.

Debbie - the link to the aluminum leaf is embedded in the post, but here it is again: http://www.gildedplanet.com/aluminumleaf.aspThat website is an awesome resource on all things gilded.

Baden Fox - WOW! A silver leafed PIANO!?! That would be a major project, but completely amazing also. Please send pics if you decided to take that on!

Fab.U.Lous!! Love this! I mirrored a small nightstand, but only because the mirror was free. I also used a bit of silver leaf, but I couldn't really tell the difference in the parts where I used the silver leaf and the parts where it was just the silver spray paint. Here's a link to my project:http://embellishedbayou.blogspot.com/2009/06/transformation-thursday.html

probably the best thing i've seen in a LONG time! thanks so much for doing this and posting this. it was the kick in the tush that i needed. i have a chair and desk i've been wanting to silver leaf but was unsure how to do it. your project looks ah-mazing!!!! you rock.

do you think this would work on a surface that wasn't really flat? for example, my landlord gave us this random (and large) statue of a horse for christmas.....and it would look much better silver. hmmm.

Totally and completely awesome. This is exactly what I have been looking for. I have a dresser that the finish has chipped/cracked and want a "mirrored" dresser, but, of course the cost was prohibitive. Thank you soooo much. I can't wait to get started.

Hi! I know you are probably sick of hearing this but, what a BEAUTIFUL dresser. I am actually about to do this to a craigslisted wooden dry sink that will be used for a bedside table slash dresser. I have a question for you. If I were to opt to seal it with a "wipe on poly," what finish would you suggest? Satin? Gloss? Would gloss make it look more like a mirror?Thank you for your great tutorial!Jay

This is a beautiful job and it's just what I was looking for. I purchased two of the bombe chests from Bombay for $25 each from the clearance sale when they went out of business in the US a couple of years ago. The marble top is cracked/broken and I don't know how to replace them but thanks to you, I now know how to silver leaf them, which I sincerely appreciate.

hi...u just got me inspired i saw ur post thru centsational girl...i just silvered leaf my dresser but i didnt like the way it looked well some areas looked perfect and some of them they were too wrinkley...do you think if i poly them those imperfections will blend ?i wish i can add a picture so you can give me an advise

This is amazing! I love it! I gold leafed a mirror, but that was small stuff next to this. I have two end tables I'm working on with silver metallic paint, but I think I'll silver leaf the top. In one blog I saw, she used crinkled up aluminum foil and sizing. Awesome! Thanks for sharing.Diddie

You've inspired me. During my lunch break (and after 3 days of researching) I went to an art supply store and bought some imitation silver leaf and size to cover a blanket box I rescued from the dump. Wish me luck!

I just have to say that you inspired me too! Your blog posting was a reason I decided to aluminum leaf an old french provincial chest and nightstand that I've had for some time. I posted about it on my blog. Feel free to check it out. :)